Did You Know? Enjoyable Info Concerning the 2025 World Equestrian Brands…

In May, Boyd Martin reached no. 1 on the FEI Eventing World Athlete rankings, the primary time a U.S. rider had held that place in additional than 20 years.

Martin described the sensation as “a surreal moment,” after sitting second and third a number of instances through the years. While world no. 1 wasn’t a “massive goal,” he felt that his monthlong reign was a mirrored image of years of onerous work and having a stable group of horses in 2025.

“I never feel like I’m the best rider in the world, and I don’t think it’s an accurate sort of feeling of the best in the world, but it’s a reflection of someone that’s got a bunch of good results in a time frame,” he mentioned. “It was very, very rewarding for the short time I lived it.”

With outcomes on 4 five-star horses and a number of other different worldwide and nationwide horses, Martin was named the 2025 World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year for the ninth time with an unprecedented 510 factors, greater than 200 factors forward of his fellow riders.

Commando 3, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Connor 48 x R-Adelgunde) owned by Yankee Creek Ranch, helped Martin to lots of his high placings in 2025, and consequently was named the Standlee USEA Horse of the Year.

In April, Martin was topped the Defender/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Champion on the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event with Commando 3, and completed in sixth with Fedarman B and seventh with Luke 140.

He and Commando 3 went on to assist the U.S. workforce to a silver medal end on the Aachen CCIO4*-S (Germany). In October, Martin gained the inaugural US Open of Eventing at Morven Park (Leesburg, Virginia) aboard Deborah Halliday and Ocala Horse Properties’ Miks Master C, a 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding (Mighty Magic x Qui Luma CBF).

He headed straight the MARS Maryland 5 Star subsequent the place he and Commando 3 completed third, then he hopped on a airplane to France for the Pau CCI5*-L with The Nutcracker Syndicate’s Cooley Nutcracker, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Tolan R x Ballyshan Cleopatra) and completed third.

With the FEI World Eventing Championships at Aachen on the horizon this summer season, Martin is staying centered on every occasion because it comes. He’s at the moment sitting at world no. 2.

“I never get too focused on making a team,” he mentioned. “I think team selection just comes from great performances in the spring and finishing with a sound, healthy horse. I’ve always been a massive believer that if you deliver at Kentucky or Badminton, and your horse is in good shape, then you should earn your spot on a team, and not get actually think past that day. My biggest goal is to line a couple of these champion horses up towards Kentucky and Badminton and give it a real good crack and then see where the chips lie after that.”

Now that you know the way superb Martin’s 2025 eventing season was, we needed to search out out some enjoyable details about him. Read on (with a humorousness!) for few stuff you may not learn about our 2025 World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year!

You’re a cat lover and just lately welcomed two Bengal cats residence. Tell me about them and your love of cats.

[We had] Manny Pacquiao and Kostya Tszyu [named after two famous boxers] for 13 years. They handed away, and we had a service for them final 12 months.

We’ve now bought Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez [also named after two famous boxers.]

We stepped it up a notch. Basically, our household’s stuffed with cat lovers, besides [my wife] Silva who’s a cat hater. Me and the boys needed to secretly distract her and meet with one of many high Bengal breeders within the United States in a cattery in Delaware, and we bought two of the rarest Bengal cats that cash may purchase, they usually’re each present high quality. I practically bought divorced when Silva insisted they go get castrated, simply because we felt like we have been closing the door on an unimaginable breeding program that we have been going to try to fireplace up. But sadly, I needed to maintain the wedding collectively. So, each cats bought [fixed] which is a breeding crime.

You’re a Philadelphia Eagles soccer fan. How’s it been going for you this season?

It’s a horrible, horrible season for the Eagles. It was horrible. We exited within the first spherical of the playoffs, they usually’re chopping heads in Philadelphia. There’s an execution of a number of the coaches, and we’re regrouping for subsequent 12 months. We had a pair delicate adjustments from our Super Bowl workforce, and it was a disastrous season.

Devonte Smith [is my favorite player.] I have not met him, however I met Zach Baun the opposite day on the airport.

Do you suppose you’d be good at soccer? Have you ever performed?

I’d be horrible. I might get snapped in half on my first snap.

Your sons play hockey. Do you ever get on the ice with them?

I ended up with a bloody nostril once I hopped on there in December and did a father/son sport. I caught a stick within the nostril and needed to come off the ice with blood dripping in all places.

Are you gifted in another sports activities?

I grew up in Australia. I used to be an excellent runner in highschool, a 1500-meter runner. But now that I’ve bought a rod in a single leg and three screws in my different ankle, I believe my working profession is over.

What is among the oddest jobs you’ve had?

[When I was starting in Australia] I mainly could not make any cash out of horses, and so I did a four-hour shift each afternoon as a telemarketer, and it was good. It’s not a foul expertise, truly. I used to be promoting seashore resort holidays at Albaña Beach Resort, and mainly they provide you a chunk of paper with about 200 cellphone numbers on it, and you need to ring 200 folks, and 98% of them hold up on you and inform you to get stuffed, after which, from time to time, there’d be one or two that buy a deposit for the vacation.

I fairly appreciated it. I sat in a room with about seven or eight different telemarketers, and for 4 hours straight, simply bought on the cellphone and simply dialed in quantity after quantity after quantity.

Do you bear in mind your first horse or pony?

An important pony known as Willie Do It.

I did my first Novice horse trial on him. My mother needed to lie about my age on the entry kind. I believe I used to be alleged to be 12, and I used to be 11.

My first competitors, I truly fell off thrice. I fell off twice within the cross-country and as soon as within the present leaping. And every time I got here off him within the cross-country, he simply took off again to my horse float [trailer] and was consuming the hay.

So, I needed to run on foot all the best way again to the trailers and hop again on him. I might like to see the scores once more. I believe I had like 180 time penalties, after which every fall was 60 penalties. I believe I completed on a rating of over 300 which in right now’s requirements can be a compulsory retirement!

What are the origins of your cross -country colours?

That’s my college rugby jersey. I used to be fairly common at rugby. I used to be within the under-13 H workforce—A being the most effective. I used to be a winger, and I performed a pair seasons for highschool, after which simply used my footy jersey on the weekends once I rode eventing.

My mother nonetheless goes to the varsity and buys me jerseys [when I need a new one.]

When I used to be in Australia in November, I went again to my college and had a chat in entrance of all the scholars a few little bit of my journey and what I’ve gone by way of, and I’m nonetheless carrying the footy jersey from college.

I simply tried to encourage the scholars there. I believe my story was a bit totally different, you realize—like everybody at my college form of performed cricket and soccer, after which I bought into the horses and I attempted to speak to the scholars about not being afraid to take a special path. It was cool to really present Silva and my youngsters round the place I went to highschool. It was proper throughout from the Sydney Harbor Bridge. For bodily training, we used to run throughout the Harbor Bridge across the Opera House, after which again once more. I took it with no consideration.

Do you bear in mind your first date with Silva?

Basically, I had lengthy hair down on my shoulders, and I had a damaged leg on the time [from falling off at a dressage show.] I broke my knee in 9 locations. Then I noticed this stunning blonde type at [another] dressage present and gathered up the braveness to go ask her out. That was on the Saturday, and the following day, all of us went to the Newcastle horse races and invited her alongside.

I believe I used to be with eight of my mates and took Silva alongside. And it was a disastrous day on the punt, and we misplaced some cash. And the excellent news is I fastidiously chosen seven actual rat bag pals, so I bought in there the most effective of a foul lot. That was our first date, and I do not know what she what considering. She skilled a little bit of Australian tradition. She did not converse a lot English. I don’t suppose she knew what she was in for.

She labored in a very large dressage steady in Germany for Rudolph Zeilinger. And Rudolph Zeilinger mentioned, if you are going to be any good at dressage, you need to study English. And he had simply offered a few stallions to a dressage steady in in Australia, not removed from the place I used to be working. She mainly got here to Australia for 3 months to get the stallions going for the customer. And it is simply across the nook from the place I used to be working on the New South Wales Equestrian Center, which was largely occasion horses.

I heard you had a favourite snack?

I like Skittles. One of the women that owns horses for me, Tammy Pollard, offers me a packet of Skittles if I bounce a transparent round on her horse on the competitors.